Page 106 of Sun-Kissed Fangs
“Yes. Tired. And annoyed, too, since I have to deal with pointless questions on top of it.”
Harper turned away fully. Justlookingat Patricia was a recipe for disaster. She could extract secrets through simple eye contact.
Sighing, Patricia moved to the couch.
“Harper…”
Harper scowled at the falling snow. “Patricia.”
“Don’t do that. Being unpleasant won’t help anything.”
“I didn’t ask for help. Or for a lecture, which I feel like this is turning into. Nothing is wrong. And even if there was, it would be none of your business. You’re not my mother. Stop acting like you are.”
A mean comment. Cruel, in fact. Patricia had beenmorethan a mother to her. Had given her more grace, more kindness, more love than Harriet Montgomery ever bothered with. For whatever fucking reason.
Patricia had enough on her plate. She shouldn’t have the patience to deal with additional bullshit. She should turn all that caring attention onto someone who might actually appreciate it.
But she kept it focused. Instead of raising her voice or walking away or anything reasonable like that, she put her arms around Harper’s shoulders. Pulling her into a hug.
“You lashing out won’t get rid of me,” Patricia said softly. “I know you’re in pain. You’re not hiding it well. But that isn’t a justified reason for hurting other people. Talk to me. Tell me what hurts.”
The knot writhing in Harper’s chest jumped into her throat, starting a burn behind her eyes.
Everythinghurt. Her heart, her stomach, herthoughts. Since they were surrounded by uncertainty, they had branched towardscountless hypotheticals, with one of them being so constant it was starting to feel true.
Distance offered perspective. The kind that could have accelerated the conclusion everyone eventually came to. That Harper was too much trouble to be worth it.
“I haven’t heard from Maya today,” Harper mumbled. “She always sends at least one text. But so far, there’s been nothing.”
Because she doesn’t give a shit about you. How could she? When all you do is cause problems, you fucking idiot.
Harper leaned out of Patricia’s arms.
“It doesn’t matter. She’s just busy. Or she couldn’t be bothered to send me an update. Either way, I don’t care.”
Patricia brushed a lock of hair behind Harper’s ear. “I’m guessing you haven’t updated her either. Have you?”
A simple question. One that hit like a punch to the stomach. She may have erected a spiky defense around her heart, but it was only a solid kick away from collapsing.
Sheshouldhave texted. Had almost done it a few times, but now too much time had passed and she didn’t know how to type out an appropriate explanation. When writing, the jumbled mess of words never quite matched what she wanted to say.
“Why does it even matter to you?” Harper muttered. “I figured you didn’t approve. No one does. Other than Nell, and she’s lost in the clouds right now.”
“I didn’t approve. Bringing a fling into the workplace causes problems for everyone, and I didn’t appreciate that. But my disapproval was short-lived. Especially after the talk I had with Maya at the Lotus. After I learned that this is rather serious.”
Harper’s eyes widened. “She told you that?”
“She told me a lot of things. Assuring things, mostly.”
“Like what?” Harper said, voice bright with eagerness. Patricia offered a knowing smile.
“That isn’t the tone of someone who doesn’t care.” She caressed Harper’s cheek. “You found something good. That’s rare. And more importantly, it’s something you’re allowed to have. Before you lie again and insist that you don’t care, try talking to Maya first.”
Harper just barely kept the tears from spilling over. Letting them out might ease some of the pressure in her chest, but pitying herself wouldn’t solve any of this. Especially since she’d had more influence over this situation than she had been willing to admit.
Maya hadaskedher. Had sought her out before she left, wanting to know if she should leave or not. And, like a fucking coward, Harper had lied.
She had expected the pain of that lie to fade rather than grow. Had thought that if she just wrapped her heart in enough acted carelessness, some of it might turn true.
